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Manchester United were lucky to escape the Gtech Community Stadium with a 1-1 draw on Saturday in their Premier League game against Brentford.
The hosts were all over the visitors and they hit the woodwork five times while Ivan Toney’s second-half strike was chalked off for offside.
United almost produced a classic smash-and-grab win when Mason Mount scored in the sixth minute of added time only for Kristoffer Ajer to equalise a couple of minutes later.
United did not deserve anything from the game and the performance was hardly any better compared to the one they put in last year in a game they lost 0-4.
Rasmus off-colour
United’s attackers hardly got a sniff with the ball with the Bees by far the more attacking team and Rasmus Hojlund often cut a frustrated figure up front on his own.
He had only 40 touches of the ball, and managed on 13 successful passes out of 18 to end the game with a passing accuracy rate of 72 percent.
Thomas Frank played three at the back and the Dane did not look comfortable at all and he still needs to work on his play with his back to goal.
He won only one out of 10 ground duels and only one out of six aerial duels. He also did not have a single successful dribble (stats via Sofascore).
With both Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho struggling, the Denmark international hardly had chances to put the opposition under pressure.
He had one big opportunity from a Bruno Fernandes pass that he failed to score from. He made one key pass in the game.
Brentford forwards show how it is done
With Brentford winning so many set-pieces, Hojlund was required to defend in the box and he made five clearances while giving away four fouls.
It was clear to see that the former Atalanta star needed help but Ten Hag had nobody to call upon for help with Anthony Martial still sidelined.
Hojlund still has a lot to learn, especially when playing against a physical defensive unit and the way Brentford’s frontmen combined should be something that this team aspires to learn.
Yoane Wissa and Toney held on to the ball time and again under pressure to bring others in to play while combining with each other superbly.
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